York Super Workman

[Jegray]

I’m looking for anyone with any information on the York Super Workman (or the York Master Workman or York General Workman). My great-grandfather Fritz York was the original patent holder in 1917. We have some of the cast iron signs off some of the old machines. But don’t have one of the machines itself. Would love to find one. It would absolutely make my 85-year old father’s day if I found one, even for him to just lay eyes on, but ideally to purchase and put in his yard.

Pic is of the first page of the patent. Obviously through the years the design changed. But it’s a cool piece of our family history that we’d like to know more about.

 

[Mrsig]

and enjoy the forum!

 

[Tinhack]

Here's a York Master Workman from an auction in 2020. There's a lot of pictures. Don't know the year but I'd guess late 60s or early 70s. This one apparently came from a New York road maintenance entity. It's a far cry from the patent image so something went right for Mr. F.E. York.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

 

[dj1701]

The York Modern Corporation originally produced horse-drawn road maintainers and graders starting in the 1920s, before shifting to tractor-towed models like the Super, Master, and General Workman as mechanization grew. These early horse-drawn versions were simpler, often with steel or wooden wheels, manual lever adjustments for the blade and rake, and designed for teams of 2-4 horses to pull them for grading dirt or gravel roads. They functioned similarly to the later ones—scarifying, blading, and raking—but without pneumatic tires or engine options, relying purely on draft animal power and operator control from a seat or standing platform.


Specific details on York horse-drawn Workman models are scarce (most surviving info is on their tractor adaptations), but they were part of the company's early lineup of road machines, competing with brands like Adams or Champion. Horse-drawn variants are now extremely rare antiques, mostly found in museums, private collections, or occasional auctions—often valued at $500-$3,000 if functional or restored, but many are just display pieces.

 

[dj1701]

Based on family accounts and historical discussions, yes, Fritz E. York (full name Fritz Emerson York) was the inventor and original patent holder for a road maintainer design in 1917, which laid the foundation for the York Workman series of graders produced by the York Modern Corporation. This patent focused on an early horse-drawn road machine for scarifying, grading, and maintaining surfaces like gravel roads—key features that evolved into the later tractor-towed models like the Super Workman, Master Workman, and General Workman.

 

[Jegray]

Here's a York Master Workman from an auction in 2020. There's a lot of pictures. Don't know the year but I'd guess late 60s or early 70s. This one apparently came from a New York road maintenance entity. It's a far cry from the patent image so something went right for Mr. F.E. York.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

Thank you! Unfortunately, he (or his wife - family has a hard time remembering which?) had cancer and sold the patent rights for a song sometime in the '20s or '30s. So I'm not sure exactly how long he remained involved. He passed in 1940. We'd just like to have some small piece of that part of our family history.

 

[Jegray]

Based on family accounts and historical discussions, yes, Fritz E. York (full name Fritz Emerson York) was the inventor and original patent holder for a road maintainer design in 1917, which laid the foundation for the York Workman series of graders produced by the York Modern Corporation. This patent focused on an early horse-drawn road machine for scarifying, grading, and maintaining surfaces like gravel roads—key features that evolved into the later tractor-towed models like the Super Workman, Master Workman, and General Workman.

Yes. He sold the patent rights in the '20s or '30s because he (or his wife - family disagrees now on which one it was) had cancer and they needed the money to pay for the cancer treatments. He died in 1940. His wife died in 1966 (which leads me to believe it was he who had cancer, not her). My dad recalls seeing a couple of the old horse-drawn scrapers early in his childhood, and of course kicks himself for not trying to find and obtain one forty or fifty years ago. He used to know a guy that lived up on one of the NY Finger Lakes year round that had one that he used to clear his driveway in the winters. Anyway, my dad is now 85 and would love to find one. He unfortunately never really met his grandfather (being born the same year great-grandpa York died), but does have lots of memories of his grandmother.